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I've heard that I shouldn't use a 'spray paint' to undercoat my minis, and should instead use a 'primer'.
However I've been using (what i think are) normal sprays for years now and haven't noticed anything bad happening?

I also haven't been able to find any 'primer' paints that appear suitable for miniatures, either in hardware store or my local hobby shop. Everything just reads 'spray paint'.
Currently I'm using the GW Black spray and a White spray frm Bunnings (brand is White Knight; Squirts) that was only $3.

Can anyone tell me if primer is really THAT necessary (on plastic and metal)? And if so, a good brand that is available in AUSTRALIA?
Thanks for help!

Primer is a kind of paint that prepares or "primes" a surface for painting, it helps paint stick and makes it look smoother.

Spray paint is just paint in a spray can.

I think that if you want primer you can pick up auto primer.The stuff used to prime cars,IIRC.

Primer is a surface sealant and first layer to give the paint a surface to adhere to.

You could use any spray paint as a primer, but its not going to cling to the the mini as well. You may never really see a difference. The idea is simply to have a coat of paint for paint to stick to better.

That said, spray automotive primer is excellent because its rugged and relatively thin so it preserves your detail work better.

As long as you varnish your minis when you are finished, you should not have any problems. I usually do a coat of gloss varnish, and then a coat of matte to kill the shine.

Actual auto primer on miniatures is something some people like to use, but it is really not necessary. I've heard that some types of auto primer can actually damage miniatures (particularly plastic ones, I think).

Personally, I've been using gesso a lot as a brush-on primer, and it works really great, and quite fast since you can water it down and apply it with a large brush without losing any detail (just be sure to water it down a bit). The nice thing is, since you apply it with a brush, you never have to worry about the weather!

There's a nice Dakka article about priming with gesso here.

Rustoleum automotive primer is the primer of the gods. I was very upset when GW discontinued their primers and went to their "chaos black" and "skull white" sprays. Neither are actually primers, they often dry in a shiny surface that won't hold paint, and both will destroy your details with even the slightest overspray. Rustoleum automotive seems to be the exact same stuff that GW used to make, only it's gray. It's got the right balance of solvent to pigment so that even if you overspray, the finished product dries with perfect detail. And it has a great surface that holds paint.

Hmmm. Is that Rustoleum stuff sold outside the US?
My guard army is looking like it'll need multiple shots with a spraycan per vehicle to get the basic camo pattern down without too much work, and anything that can thin down the paint layers is good.

Rustoleum auto primer is a major pain to strip. Keep in mind auto paints are forumalted to resist common automotive chemicals, such as gas, oil, etc etc as well as the weather and corrosion.

All that makes it very difficult to remove= so make sure you really want it on there.

I stick with Krylon flats as a base coat and prime all in one.

Krylon is the way to go. GO with the krylon primers and you wont be upset. I have not seen a primer that affects plastic models like hordini states but they will eat away pink foam.

Assuming that I can find Krylon or Rustoleum in Aus (which is a massive assumption) what is the exact colour you recommend?
Is Krylon specifically an automotive spray?

Black grey or white are the preferred colors go to a home improvement or a hardware store that is a good place to look for paint.

Do you have Wal-Mart there? I use their generic brand ($.96 a can) flat spray paint to prime all of my miniatures and it works at least as well as any other primer that I've ever tried. It's 10x better than anything that GW has ever released. It maintains fine details. Paint sticks to it extremely well. It's stupid cheap. What's not to love? My best advice to you is that you experiment with different types of sprays so that you can figure out what you like. You don't have to invest a lot to have a well painted army. You just have to learn the tricks.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

artyboy wrote:Do you have Wal-Mart there? I use their generic brand ($.96 a can) flat spray paint to prime all of my miniatures and it works at least as well as any other primer that I've ever tried. It's 10x better than anything that GW has ever released. The finish is smooth enough to maintain fine details (most "hobby" primers that I've tried always end up grainy) but paint still sticks to it extremely well. It's also stupid cheap. What's not to love? My best advice to you is that you experiment with different types of sprays so that you can figure out what you like. You don't have to invest a lot to have a well painted army. You just have to learn the tricks.